On this day in History-Oct. 4
On this day back in 1876, Texas A&M University became the first institution of higher education in the state of Texas. The college opened as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas under the provisions of the Morrill-Land Grant Acts. The classes officially began on that day as well with six new faculty members teaching those courses.
Texas A&M is a coeducational public research university that is located in College Station, Texas and it is the fourth largest university in the United States as it spans 5,200 acres plus another 350 acres for Research Park. In 2013, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the national universities and Texas A&M was ranked 65th in the country.
Overall, the university offers degrees in over 150 courses of study through 10 colleges, and it also holds 18 research institutes. Since its establishment, Texas A&M has awarded over 320,000 degrees and that same number includes 70,000 graduate and professional degrees. The college is also one of three public universities that contain a full-time, volunteer Corps of Cadets.
